Subscribe
Follow Us
Frances Tiafoe's victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the US Open quarterfinal on Tuesday has guaranteed an American in the men's final for the first time in 18 years. The 20th-seed will face compatriot Taylor Fritz in the semifinal on Friday, after Fritz defeated fourth-seed Alexander Zverev in a hard-fought battle 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe advanced to the semifinal after Dimitrov suffered a leg injury in the third set, forcing him to retire.
The US Open official account on X, formerly Twitter, also celebrated the Americans' accomplishments.
“It's not the way I wanted to win even if I'm happy to get through to the semifinals,” Tiafoe said after his win.
Americans in the US Open
Despite a largely disappointing year, Frances Tiafoe has made his third straight US Open quarterfinal after defeating the 28th-seed Alexei Popyrin, a welcome streak of success given that the American's only other Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance was the 2019 Australian Open.
His victory over the ninth-seed Grigor Dimitrov pushes him one step closer to winning the US Open, a tournament he has sworn to win.
How historic is the semifinal between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz? For context, Andy Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam, when he won the 2003 US Open. Additionally, Roddick was the last American to make a US Open final in 2006, where he lost to Roger Federer.
Moreover, Tiafoe versus Fritz will be the first all-American men's singles final-four US Open match since Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri in 2005, which Agassi won.
Article Continues Below
After his quarterfinal victory, Tiafoe expressed his excitement at advancing to the next round, despite the way it happened.
“I didn't want to end it like that, for me or the crowd. But Friday is going to be one hell of a day,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fritz looks to avenge his previous four losses at the quarterfinal of a major tournament.
“Today just felt different. I really felt like it was my time to go a step further. It's only fitting I'm doing it here on this court, at the Open, in front of this crowd,” the twelfth-seed Fritz said.
More quarterfinal news
On the women's side, fellow American Emma Navarro defeated Spain's Paula Badosa 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the semifinal. Earlier, in the fourth round, Navarro defeated No. 3 seed Coco Gauff in a stunning upset, capping off a disappointing year which saw Gauff also losing in the Olympics a few weeks prior.
Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, had struggled in the first three rounds, and she was bound to run into a better player peaking at the right time.
